spazmatron

I really like the feel of the wooden pitch stick on some of the Nord synths. They can be purchased for $75. From what I understand, it's a metal strip, with some kind of pressure sensor mounted on each side. I couldn't find that anyone has used one of these in their midibox from searching the forum. Perhaps do to the cost? I think I would be willing to pay if I could make it work. Does anyone have any more info on this? I'm no pro, but I was thinking it could be implemented with an ain module? I guess it depends on the specs of the sensors. I don't want to drop $75 if it won't work. Thanks for your opinions.

I did ask this on the ableton forum as well, but lets face it, you guys are the masters when it comes to this stuff!

I've been planning a midibox ableton foot controller for a while now. Nothing fancy, basically just a clip matrix for my feet using midi notes mapped to clips. My question is: can I have both a foot (or any midi controller) and an apc40 triggering the same clips? For example: The 1st button on the apc triggers track 1, clip 1. The 1st button on my midibox triggers the same clip. The reason I ask, is that if I try this with 2 regular midi controllers, when I map a button, it overides the previous mapping. Not to be confused with mapping one controller to multiple destinations. I mean: multiple controllers mapped to the same destination. I'm hoping that perhaps the apc will keep its mapping even if another controller is mapped the same destinations. Or perhaps this is already a simple problem that I just haven't figured out the solution to? Let me know if this a retarded question. Thanks

Sorry, I forgot that many of the people here are not in the U.S. I'm close to Dallas Texas. I have no idea what the shipping over seas would be, probably alot. As far as the voltage, the back panel says "AC 117v~" (It works in U.S. outlets). What does Gebrauchtwert mean? Please feel free to ask anymore questions.

I know this isn't exactly the kind of thing this section is meant for, but I thought I would give you guys a chance before I try Ebay. I have a ROLAND SH-07 vintage synth I'm thinking about selling. I'm looking to replace it with a Nord Lead 2x, or perhaps a couple of less expensive synths. It's not in mint condition, more like "good" condition, but definitely working. Just google it and you can find out all you need to know. If anyone is interested, I can post some images or video, and answer any questions you might have. Even if you're not interested, any advice before I sell it would be great. As always, Thanks

Thanks man. Thats perfect. It's a joy to participate in such an awesome community!

I didn't realize how many wire connections a project like this required untill just recently. I planned on trying really hard to keep it neat. I have failed miserably. I guess we have to make a few ugly boxes before we learn how to make that really pretty one. Anyway, I was wondering if there are instructions somewhere for how to use the ain64_din128_dout128_v2_0.zip app. to figure out my SR and Pin numbers? I swear I saw it somewhere just the other day, and now I can't find it. I have the first 16 pins hooked up so far, and I get a number with an * after it for these buttons. For example "5*" or "15*". Thanks :)

Thanks for the compliments!! It means alot coming from pros like you guys. I only hope my son likes it as much. As of right now he really has no idea what its supposed to do. (I still have much wiring to do!) I'm still hoping someone can help me out with the dedicated bpm encoder. I'm sure what T.K. said is the solution, since he wrote the code in the first place. If anyone can help me put that into place that would be great! I am also in need of an inexpensive sound module. If anyone has an old one lying around that they would like to donate, or sell cheap, please let me know. Even some suggestions that I can search on ebay would help. I found an Alesis Nanopiano at a local pawn shop, but it can only receive 1 channel at a time. I was hoping to have each of the 4 tracks set to a different sound. For now I can always just run it into some softsynths, but I really want it eventually to be an all-in-one box (SEQ, sound source, small amp). I don't want to have to set up my software everytime my 3 year old wants to jam! I'll post some more pics when I get the enclosure completed.

...and with a backlight:

Here's a couple of pics of my progress:

Thanks for all of the help. Is the voltage for each DOUT pin 5V? If so, then it sounds like the parallel method would be better. Is there anything I need to measure/watch for so that I don't damage my SR? As far as the BPM encoder, I'm afraid that's a bit over my head. I don't know how to reuse the MB808 variant of seq_enc.inc. Also I don't think I really know what the additional code in the main.inc would be either. I'm sure this is probably easy stuff for most of you guys. I would love to have a better understanding of how to manipulate the code to do what I need. I would greatly appreciate any more help working through this. Thanks for your time!

Well, its coming along o.k. but I do have a few questions: 1. Can I connect more than 1 led in series to each DOUT pin? Not like an led ring, I just want 2 or 3 leds for each GP button.(it will make since when you see it) 2. Is there a standard type of led to use? (size or rating or whatever, I don't really know much about them) 3. How do I make a dedicated BPM encoder? (add or change something in the asm file?) thanks, I'll have some pics soon

I was planning on having the lcd and menu buttons hidden under a panel or inside the enclosure so that I can access the menus if I need to. But as far as all of the other buttons, I will just not connect them at all. So this is great. It sounds like I can just install the buttons I need, load the app, and I'm done. Is it really that easy, or am I missing something? -Thanks Shane

Thanks. I'll give him a shout.

I've looked at the code for the SEQ and also the clockbox, but its a bit over my head. I'm actually a computer science major at the University of North Texas. Unfortunatley the simple things I've learned so far don't really help me much here. To clarify a previous question: If I load the SEQv3 app, but just don't connect the buttons I don't need, will it work? Or do some modifications need to be made in the code, and also the hardware (din I guess?) I remember reading a post a while back from a guy in Denton TX that was building a SEQ. Does anyone know who that was, I also live in Denton. Perhaps we could hook up and talk Midibox, or make some music. -Thanks Shane

I forgot to mention. I would also like to have the standard leds included. Perhaps even the dou color ones if not more difficult. -Shane

Thanks for all of the input. I have only a little bit of c++ knowledge. Just the pointless programs I have to write for computer science classes. (gradebook, sorting an array, basic math stuff, etc..) I really have no idea what the code for a midibox app would look like. Is it possible to use the defualt SEQ app and just leave out the buttons I don't need? Or does the code need to be changed? stryd_one mentioned writing the code based on the clockbox. Given that I'm a newbie, that sounds more involved than changing existing code, perhaps I should have mentioned that I really don't know what I'm doing! I was thinking also to maybe have a hiden "parent section" with a few extra buttons (force to scale, whatever else might be usefull) I would like the option of more features as my son gets older. I took a look at the manual, and I'm trying to figure out if it is possible to have the buttons and encoders set to the functions I want without being able to change them on accident. (restricted access) Also for the 17th encoder to be set to bpm by defualt. I hope that all makes sense. I actually have 2 core kits that just need to be soldered, so I welcome any more ideas. You guys are great! -Shane

I have a three year old son, and I've noticed that there are not really many quality musical creation type toys for the young ones. I've never actually used a hardware sequencer before, but from my reading it seams like it might be a good platform for a kids instrument. Would it be possible to make a simplified SEQ with only: 16 buttons for steps 4 buttons for 4 tracks 16 encoders for note change (force to scale) 1 encoder for bpm Put it all in a durable kid friendly case, perhaps in a circle pattern for the steps? I would appreciate any input from some of you that have experience with the SEQ. - also, any ideas on an inexpensive, and easy to implement built in sound source? -Thanks for any input Shane

Thanks for the help guys. I was looking at the X-Arcade buttons at 20 for $20. I like the Happ buttons because of the domed tops and the different colors, but they also cost about twice as much. Yes I really want about 100 or so. This could mean a difference of $100 or more for the Happ buttons. Does anyone know how the cheaper buttons compare? I would rather spend $200 once, than spend $100 just to turn around and spend $200 anyway because my cheaper buttons broke. However if they'll work, the X-arcade buttons would difinitely fit my budget better. Oh and all of my electronics are on a strict diet of brown ales and cheesecake. Thanks again for the advice.

I'm in the process of making a foot controller with a lot of buttons for triggering clips in Ableton. I've searched and searched for the appropriate buttons. I'm going to have around 100 or so buttons, so I have to balance cost with function. I was considering arcade buttons. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? I'm not going to be stomping on them, just tapping them. I know Smash has arcade experience, since he's not a very busy guy, maybe he could respond on this. (just kidding about the "not busy part"!) If this will work, what should I look for in an arcade button? (brand,etc.) Thanks for your thoughts

I just received my first two core kits (core-R4) from Smash. The boards look great! I would like to link the two cores for 128 buttons and 16 encoders. I've got a few quick questions before I start soldering. 1. How do I have power indicator leds? 10 or 20 for illumination. Not responding to MIDI, I just want them to come on when the power is on. 2. Specifically what should I use for a power supply? (2 cores + 2 of Smash's lcds + 20 leds) Do I need 2 seperate power supplys or just one. I have read the J1 description on Smash's site, but I don't know that much about electricity, so I want to be sure. 3. How do I add a Power switch? (ON/OFF) 4. If I'm using the MIDIbox link, do I leave the optocoupler off of one of the cores? 5. Will MIDIO128 + MIDIbox64E work for what I want? Thanks for any help!! You guys are awesome!! -let me know if this should have been under a different catagory.

I guess what I'm really thinking is that if I'm going to spend the money, I might as well make it a MIDIbox instead. For one, I think it would be a fun project. But also, the added features would be pretty cool. With the MuRF you are limited to the factory preset patterns. Creating my own patterns on the fly would be fun. Can the SEQ slave to my host software tempo? If so, that alone would make the difference. Thanks again.

I've been wanting to get my hands on a Mooger Fooger MuRF pedal for a while now. If you haven't seen one, head over to the Moog site and check it out. It's a bank of 8 resonant band pass filters, each tuned differently from low to high. The audio is sent through each filter according to the pattern you select. For example: it might go from low to high, one at a time. or high to low, etc. I think there are 24 patterns all together. Well they are pretty expensive. I'm sure it's worth it, but I'm not rich. So I'm wondering if the MIDIbox SEQ could do this? My MIDIbox research has been mainly for controller purposes, so I don't know much about the SEQ. It does support up to 8 CV outputs, so it's just a matter of putting all together. Assuming the SEQ could do this, I would still need the additional filter circuits, envelope, lfo, etc. Thanks for any ideas.

While this is not directly related to Midibox, I figure all of you MIDI gurus here might be able to help. In Ableton live there is a midi overdub feature. Basically you trigger a loop to start recording your midi input ( in my case drum triggers from a Alesis DM5 drum module). When you are ready, you trigger the loop to end. At this point the loop will start over, and keep repeating. On each repeat you can keep overdubing more midi notes until you build the loop that you want. If I use my midi keyboard, this feature works perfectly fine. When I use drum triggers going thru my DM5, the first pass of the loop records everything. After the first pass it only captures a random note here and there. The fact that it works fine on the first pass of the loop, but not the rest is very strange. At first I thought it must be a software problem, but it works fine with my midi keyboard? I found one guy on the Ableton forum with the same sort of problem, but nobody ever responded to his post. His theory was that it had something to do with the length of the midi notes from the drum module, or that maybe it wasn't sending note off messages. If any of you guys have any ideas, please let me know what you think. The whole reason I built the electronic drum set and bought the DM5 was for this purpose, now it doesn't work.....Bummer! Thanks for any ideas. If anyone can figure it out, its the MIDIbox community!

Thanks for the tips. About the resistors, Synapsys says to lower by 200 ohms. So that would be 9800 ohms I guess? Pay c says 4,7 k. Is that supposed to be 4.7, or 4 or 7 k. I understand the concept behind lowering the value, but I don't want to fry anything. I don't know much about the math of electronics, so any help is much appreciated. Thanks for your time